My Blog List

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Sunday Mornings at the Farmers Market I love to talk gardening with customers and friends . If you know me , then you know I'm not a fan of container growing for many reasons. However Pineapples seem to be the exception to the rule. For the last 4 years or so I have been experimenting growing pineapples and has learned a few things. One thing I've noticed is that Pineapples do very well in containers; I use large 15-25 gallon pot's filled with premium potting soil, a hand full of Organic 6-6-6 fertilizer and water every day. I've also found slow growing pineapples can some times sunburn so I leave the pots under the shade of a small oak tree. The fruit harvested from these potted plants can get nearly as big as fruit bought in grocery stores. Gardening is about results so spend the money on the premium potting soil, I do not recommend bagged "topsoil" or "50/50"

Friday, June 22, 2012

Giant pineapples revisited

Recently, farmer Margie and I were invited over to The Lettuce Farm to pick
some pineapples. Really! Farmer Tim Rowan has all kinds of fruit growing during
the summer, when it’s too hot for lettuce and cabbage.
Whenever you visit a farm for the first time, the farmer will take you on a
tour of all the significant plants and features of his or her place. Tim pointed
out Tommy Atkins mango trees loaded with blushing round-shouldered fruit,
ribbon-like dragon fruit cactus vines ready to bloom and complete with an
abandoned bird’s nest, passion fruit vines thick on a trellis, and quite
possibly the area’s largest compost pile running the length of his property. The
field where he grows lettuces and cabbages in winter was covered densely with
elephant grass as tall as our heads, and home to twittering birds.

Farmer Margie learns the fine art of picking
pineapple.

But what drew our attention and curiosity were the large raised beds, loaded
with pineapple plants, which ring his modest house. In the west bed, all the
plants were two years old, fully grown from green tops cut off pineapples, and
they were loaded with fruit. Each plant produces only one fruit, which grows on
a stalk at the center of the plant. The fruit were very large, and the ripest
ones were peeking out golden through long leaves. In the east bed were plants
bearing slightly smaller pineapples, which looked like they would be ready in
about a month or so. Those plants were a year old, originally hapas (or slips)
that sprouted from the bases of the older plants. Last summer Tim had snapped
off hapas and planted them in their own patch. Each mature plant sprouted one or
two hapas. Plants grown from hapas bear fruit in one year, but plants grown from
tops bear in two.

More hapas potted up. These will be transplanted to a
raised bed.

Tim let us pick our own fruit. He pointed out the ripest ones, and told us
what to do. Picking a pineapple is fairly simple. Grasp it firmly with both
hands, give the fruit a snap to one side and a small twist, and it easily breaks
off the stalk. I was once again surprised by how heavy and substantial it was.
After picking, Tim aimed a hose at the base of the fruit and washed off a bunch
of ants. They are attracted to sugar in the fruit, which start to ripen from the
bottom.

Hosing off the ants.

The pineapples we picked were amazingly heavy. Out came the scale to check
weight. One was eight and a half pounds and the other was nine. (I haven’t
weighed the ones you can get at the store, but they’re about half the size and
weight.) Must be the special soil mix and organic fertilizer that Tim feeds his
plants! The ripest fruit was ready to eat, and its sweet aroma tantalized us on
light breeze, as we chatted on the back patio. Tim’s feisty Chihuahua jumped
from his lap onto the table and sniffed at the fruit, which easily dwarfed her.
It can truly be said that on that small farm located at the edge of the
Everglades, pineapples grow as big as a dog.

Monday, June 18, 2012

When my daughter has a bad day or bad experience I always say to her ; This is an opportunity for a learning experience or spiritual growth. Today is my turn, it seems some of the pineapples are getting a bad case of sunburn. The bad sunburn can range from superficial to causing the fruit to rot. Solution; I cut up an old floating row cower and wrapped them to see if that helps .

It's rare when I can't talk my way out of a Felony Breaking and Entering charge , so just a reminder, you can't bribe someone with a Visa Card, so take some cash. and save money eating Ramen noodles , Mosquito repellent is also effective against bed bugs. I would also recommend sleeping with a head lamp and shoes on

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Friday, June 1, 2012

Today is the first day of the 2012 Hurricane Season and I just returned home from grocery shopping, the Cashier put a “ Hurricane Preparedness guide” in my bag. I was appalled at their so call tips . We are talking real life Emergency and that’s the best they can do . The only thing I took away from it is that I’m in the wrong business , I should be selling bottled water . I took it upon my self as a Public Service to bring " You People" up to speed , I just hope I’m not to late .. First of all I survived Hurricane Andrew , and when a tree fell on the house I didn't reach for a bottled water . So Tip #1 is stock up on Alcohol ! A tree limb through a window can break glass, so I prefer Vodka in plastic bottles and twist off caps . I’m going to finish my Preparedness tips with captioned pictures .. be safe South Florida

In the event of a direct hit from a storm, please go check on my house ! I'll be 1/2 way to Nebraska

First thing don't Panic ! you might spill your beverage

Time to get in line at Home Depot for plywood , by the time you get home the storm will be over .

Stock up on Medication , It could be 3 days before FEMA shows up to save your ass, and you could run out of Prozac, ,Xanax and Vagisil

Make sure you have supplies for at least 3 days . A flashlight will help you look for you Homeowners Insurance Policy , the pages of worthless paper can be used for toilet paper after all the Insurance Companies declare Bankruptcy

In case of post storm looting, I have a ferocious dog to protect my life and property